After 24 years, 1st Sgt. Charles “Lee” Johnston retired on Friday from the N.C. Highway Patrol, including five years at the Kinston office.

1st Sgt. R.E. Bowen, currently working at the HP training academy in Raleigh, will take his place beginning Oct. 7.

Johnston said he expects Bowen will fit in with the community and be well-liked.

“(Bowen’s) a people-oriented person,” he said. “He’ll do whatever he can to help you. He’s a good person.”

In the meantime, Sgt. G.S. Hemby and Sgt. Chris Owens will head up the Kinston office until Bowen’s arrival.

“(Johnston) is undoubtedly one of the best 1st sergeants I’ve worked for,” Hemby said. “He is truly a trooper’s 1st sergeant.”

Hemby said Johnston is “family-oriented,” so he has accommodated for the personal needs of those who are under his direction.

Johnston, 49, grew up on a NashCounty farm and joined the U.S. Marine Corps. After four years, he got out and decided to go into law enforcement. He said he felt it was an important and honorable job.

“You’re doing something that makes you feel like you can make a difference,” he said.

Johnston went to the Highway Patrol’s BasicSchool in 1989 and his first duty station was in rural WarrenCounty where he spent six weeks riding with a training officer before working on his own. Today, troopers spend twice that amount of time training.

“That’s one thing that has changed in training,” he said, “… it’s so much better, more detailed.”

Equipment has also greatly changed. The portable radio Johnston had in his early years on the force was not reliable. With changes in technology, he said he can contact anyone he needs to reach wherever he goes.

In 1992, Johnston was transferred to PittCounty and then Ahoskie where he was promoted to sergeant and transferred to Beaufort in 2004. In July 2007, he was promoted to his current position and transferred to Kinston. The Kinston office oversees Lenoir and Jones counties.

Johnston recalled the overwhelming sadness his department felt when the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office’s Detective Rickie “Allen” Pearson Jr. was shot and killed and Maj. Ryan Dawson was wounded on April 8, 2009.

“That was a very difficult time here in this area,” he said.

It highlights the dangers law enforcement face on the job — something Johnston said just isn’t talked about much, nor did he think about it when he decided to pursue his career.

“I guess I had that Marine Corps mentality,” he said. “If you get scared, you just can’t do this job.”

But there are also rewards. There are numerous opportunities to help people stranded on the road or in other circumstances. And it’s not always about writing up tickets, Johnston said. A lot has to do with preventing harm.

Over the years, the Highway Patrol has stressed safety and the number of arrests has dropped, he said. The first priority when a trooper approaches a vehicle is to rule out impairment, whether from alcohol or drugs, he said.

“When you’ve taken someone off the road that’s dangerous,” Johnston said, “… you take pride that, hey, you might have saved somebody’s life by stopping that person from driving recklessly.”

While Kinston wasn’t originally where Johnston wanted to end up, today he is thankful for the transfer here.

“Looking back on it now,” he said, “I think God definitely had his hand in it.”

It’s the people he works with that have made it worthwhile, he said.

“The troopers, the people I work with here — the sergeants and troopers and secretary. … It’s just really a good bunch of guys.”

Johnston said it’s the way the officers treat people and conduct themselves that stands out.

“The people in Lenoir and Jones counties can be proud of the troopers that work here,” he said.

Johnston, a member of People’s BaptistChurch in Greeneville, said he is giving prayer as to what he will do now. Currently, he teaches a Sunday school class at his church and enjoys working with youth. He hopes some volunteer opportunities will open up and wants to spend more time with his family.

Johnston resides in PittCounty with his wife Angie, their daughter Ashlee, 14, and son Charlie, 12.

Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.